


From Cub to Lion

by Zodiac



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Drabble, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-19
Updated: 2013-07-19
Packaged: 2017-12-20 16:32:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/889433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zodiac/pseuds/Zodiac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While relaxing in the Dead God's Pad, Joshua hears something amiss amongst the normally quiet sewers of Shibuya, a child's wail. When he finds little abandoned Sho, he sees fit to raise him, well, as well as the ruler of the dead and his subordinates can raise a human child, anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Cub to Lion

It all began with a simple wail, heard by only a single set of inhumanly-sharp ears. In the nearly deserted bowels of Shibuya, it was about the last sound Yoshiya Kiryu expected to hear, one of pure, raw humanity, one associated with birth when the surrounding area was affiliated with quite the opposite. Of course, considering how amiss the sound was amongst the concrete walls framing the trickle of the Shibuya river, the Composer saw fit to investigate it, not expecting the source he ended up finding.

Nestled within one of the numerous trash heaps in the sewage system Joshua called home was a nearly-newborn child, bawling and crying for attention that it had little chance of attracting. Well, luckily for it, it was a slow day for its savior, mostly spent lounging about in the Dead God’s Pad up until this point. Examining the colicky infant as though it carried the plague, Joshua quickly discovered a note tucked into the blanket wrapped around it. A quick read over the scrawled letter revealed a simple message, “I’m sorry, my dear, precious Sho, but he would kill you, and I, if he discovered your existence. I can’t bear the thought of that happening, so this will have to be good enough for the both of us. Goodbye."

Ah, the self preservation of humans, going even so far as to allow their own child to die so that they themselves could live on. Joshua found it simply fascinating. From the amount of information he could gleam, the mother had a partner, probably one who had been away for some time, who would be furious at the thought of knowing of this child’s existence, going so far as to kill them both if he did find out. So, rather than give it up to new parents who had a slim chance of tracing it back to her, she instead left it, albeit reluctantly, to die.

Now that the origins of the child were known, the next matter of business was to find out what to do with it. Now, he couldn’t, in all good consciousness, simply leave the poor thing here to die. It wouldn’t last a day in the Reaper’s Game and it would probably keep making that wretched noise were he to just leave it here. He couldn’t just give it up for adoption as its mother must have had reasoning for not doing so and, if it was tracked back to her, it would end up dying anyway according to her note. So, seeing no other option, he bundled up the boy named Sho into his arms, taking him towards the undead haven he had just left. Surprised at how he almost instantly stopped crying, the Composer titled his head at him, only to receive a sharp yank to the hair in return, uttering a soft growl of annoyance in response.

This was going to be quite a problem child.

And Sho did indeed have his troublesome moments, like when he discovered he enjoyed ruining Higashizawa’s dishes or when he would bury himself in his self-made trash piles for days at a time, but he balanced those aggravating times out with plenty of precious ones fit for any family album. Joshua made Megumi introduce him to the other Reapers after the first day and he explained to them that they were to help raise him to the best of their abilities, giving the false pretense that the omnipotent Composer had seen some promise in the little one and would raise him to eventually become a Reaper.

And so they did, ‘Aunt Koni’, ‘Uncle Higgy’, and ‘Grandpa Megu’ keeping an eye on the troublesome tyke when Joshua could not. Eventually, they realized that the note that was with him did not give away his family name, so they bestowed one upon him in place of his real parents, Minamimoto.

It was clear, when learning the basic subjects, that Sho had a strong penchant for math, asking Joshua to explain how to do equations as a normal child would ask its parents for a repetition of their favorite story.

So, he would indulge the demanding child, adding a bit of fun to the learning process simultaneously. Enlisting in the help of a jellyfish Noise, he would inquire, “One plus one is…?"

"Two!" The child would crow happily, quite confident in his answer.

And the confidence would pay off, Joshua giving a smile and a pet to the head as a reward as the jellyfish would, as if on queue, split apart into two separate entities. “That is correct, good job."

Where, oh where, did the raising of that sweet child begin to go wrong?

Was it introduced along with Sanae Hanekoma, who could truly see the latent potential lying in wait within him and would force its hand, were it absolutely necessary? Was it the lessons spent with Higashizawa who taught him, among better things, to crush every and any trace of any foes he may acquire? Was it the time with Konishi, who hardened his already-budding confidence into iron, making him absolutely sure of any plans he may come up with, whether sane or not? Was it the company of Kitaniji, who revealed humanity’s crueler side to him? Was it becoming a Reaper, offering him the view of the true power he could obtain through murder and backstabbing?

Regardless of whether it was one factor or many, Sho’s sweet nature didn’t agree with his development at one point, and now the result of such rejection was staring the mighty Composer right in the face.

Now, his adopted son whom he treated better than even he was in life, was coated in the nightmarish substance known as Taboo, amber eyes trained on him only having the instinct to kill left within them. Choking down a sob from seeing someone so close to him warped into a monster so twisted, Joshua focused on the points necessary to prevent losing it altogether. He’s here to kill me, he thought. It was his choice to take on the Taboo and he ended up taking it for the sole purpose of stealing my throne. I can’t let that happen. Shibuya will fall if he gets a hold of it. People will die, including myself, if I don’t stop him here, now.

Keeping those, and other, similar thoughts running through his mind, the Composer raised the pistol in his grip, shaking hands trying to keep it level with the mad beast’s forehead.

A shot, a flash, and a bang seconds later and it was over, a close pseudo-relative fizzling out of existence, his unlife sacrificed for the good of another’s.

Perhaps Yoshiya Kiryu had a stronger connection to the undecipherable humans than he would care to admit.


End file.
